“Salma Hayek Reflects on Waiting ’20 Years’ for Beyoncé’s Country Era, Shares ‘Bandidas’ Throwbacks with Penélope Cruz”

Beyoncé dropped her highly anticipated country album ‘Cowboy Carter’ on Friday, March 29

Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz in ‘Bandidas’ circa 2006 and Beyoncé at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards on April 1, 2024. PHOTO: 20TH CENTURY FOX; KEVIN MAZUR/WIREIMAGE

Salma Hayek has had Cowboy Carter on repeat just like the rest of the Bey Hive!

On Wednesday, the Golden Globe-winning actress, 57, took to Instagram to express how much she’s been loving Beyoncé’s new country album and shared photos from her own cowboy-core phase when she and Penélope Cruz costarred in the 2006 film Bandidas.

Hayek posted a carousel of photos — including a shot of herself rocking Cowboy Carter merch and a cowboy hat and throwback photos from the western film’s set — and sung her praises of Queen Bey’s new music in the caption. “Dear @beyonce, Penélope and I have been waiting 20 YEARS for this album!” she wrote of the record, which dropped Friday, March 29.

“FINALLY, it was worth it. 🤠 #CowboyCarter @penelopecruzoficial,” added the Oscar-nominated star.

Salma Hayek wears ‘Act II: Cowboy Carter’ merch on Instagram.SALMA HAYEK/INSTAGRAM

In the shots, Hayek showed off the back of her t-shirt, which featured a microphone, star and the phrase, “KNTRY RADIO TEXAS 100,000 WATTS OF HEALING POWER,” or a reference to the fictional radio station mentioned on the 32-time Grammy winner’s album.

She also posted a couple of sweet photos with her longtime friend/former costar, 49, from when they filmed Bandidas, which follows two women in 19th-century Mexico who become bank-robbing outlaws. While wearing cowboy hats, chaps and western-inspired corsets, the two posed next to each other in the desert in one shot and smiled while Cruz gave Hayek a piggyback ride in the other.

In the comments, famous friends chimed in about how thrilled they were to see the From Dusk Till Dawn star voicing her support for Beyoncé, 43. “YAS,” replied Kerry Washington.

Fans also shared their love for Act II: Cowboy Carter. “Thanks for supporting the Queen. Queens recognize Queens don’t they? ❤️,” responded one Instagram user, while another commented, “Love you even MORE for rocking that Texas shirt 😍.”

Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz in ‘Bandidas’ (2006).20TH CENTURY FOX

Beyoncé dropped her follow-up to 2022’s Renaissance on Friday, marking her first-ever LP fully inspired by Americana and country music.

The highly anticipated record features 27 tracks and a number of A-list features, including Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone and Willie Nelson.

In addition to many stand-out original tracks, Act II: Cowboy Carter also included covers of “Blackbird” by The Beatles and a reimagined rendition of Parton’s country classic “Jolene.”

Hayek isn’t the only star who’s shouted out the hitmaker since her new album came out. June Carter Cash’s daughter Carlene welcomed her to country music, and her collaborators Post Malone, 28, and Cyrus, 31, have shared how honored they were to work with her in thoughtful tributes posted online.

Beyoncé.BLAIR CALDWELL

Upon the release of Act II: Cowboy Carter, the “Break My Soul” singer shared a statement in a press release about the project and her vision for it.

“The joy of creating music is that there are no rules,” she said. “The more I see the world evolving the more I felt a deeper connection to purity. With artificial intelligence and digital filters and programming, I wanted to go back to real instruments, and I used very old ones. I didn’t want some layers of instruments like strings, especially guitars, and organs perfectly in tune. I kept some songs raw and leaned into folk. All the sounds were so organic and human, everyday things like the wind, snaps and even the sound of birds and chickens, the sounds of nature.”

Beyoncé at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on April 1, 2024.MICHAEL BUCKNER/BILLBOARD VIA GETTY

Beyoncé continued, “My process is that I typically have to experiment. I enjoy being open to have the freedom to get all aspects of things I love out and so I worked on many songs. I recorded probably 100 songs. Once that is done, I am able to put the puzzle together and realize the consistencies and the common themes, and then create a solid body of work.”

After revealing that the album was five years in the making, the superstar added, “It’s been really great to have the time and the grace to be able to take my time with it. I was initially going to put Cowboy Carter out first, but with the pandemic, there was too much heaviness in the world. We wanted to dance. We deserved to dance. But I had to trust God’s timing.”

Her statement concluded, “I think people are going to be surprised because I don’t think this music is what everyone expects — but it’s the best music I’ve ever made.”